Come here First.

[Hikari_Mamo]

The master smiled a little. "Ah little fox you're adorable." He purred tapping out the ashes in his pipe and filling it with more pot before lighting up and taking a drag. "All right. how about a trade. You give me those who are handed to you, and in exchange I give you fifty percent of what they're worth and keep thieves off your back." He inhaled more of the smoke. "What do you say?"

Yuuki smiled softly. "Exactly." She replied dropping the neko off. The girl at first didn't want to let her go but then she smelt catnip and went running for it. Yuuki's neck, both sides, were bright purple and dripping a little blood. She didn't seem worried. "He wants to free all the slaves and unfortunately he needs someone on the up top to help gain access to stray for sale neko's and Kitsune's and Inu's. Simple as that, and he'll give her whatever she needs to get that benefit from her even sleep with her if she wants it."  

[The Madame Red]

"Let's make that number a little higher," Naomi checked her nails before toying with one of her tails, "I'm thinking a solid 75%, I take in any slave and turn them into gems worth having. Then i'll send them your way. With that higher number, I will also feed, clothe, and entertain any more of your little guardians you send to me for whatever reason."

She noticed some of the surrounding people that she was asking for far too much. This was not her first time bartering for a good price that supported what she wanted. Naomi gave a small smile, "I know what i'm asking for isn't exactly humble, but we all want bread on our table and a pretty vacation package."



Crow hesitated when Yuuki mentioned that the master would even sleep with Naomi. He knew that she was selective on who she kept in a personal manner, but would she? Could she? She was like his big sister and didn't even want to think of something like that!

He pulled his hood further than it would normally go as he grumbled, "I would hope someone wouldn't actually...sleep with someone just to get their way. Not that I think of Naomi like that, but...well, she's like my own family and... I would hope she'd at least say no and buy him a drink."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Yuuki shrugged. "Depends on how much she wants what he's offering her." She replied. "Don't worry, you won't know unless she tells you."


The Master smirked. He liked this girl. Lots of spirit. "I go no higher than 65% and I throw in free food delivery every fourth day including public holidays. And a patch up of your shop and living quarters." He added.  

[The Madame Red]

"I'll keep it at 70% and throw in a minimum of five slaves per delivery, escorted by myself or my friend, and i'll get you the best pot you've ever had," Naomi wasn't a fool, she had seen the best of all types of dealers though she was more of an opiate type of lady than pot.

She inched close as her tails flickered in delight, "Or perhaps you have other things you want? If it's women you want, I know plenty of freed kitsune women who are dying to follow their natural urges to breed. Or if it's men you prefer, I know plenty of freed young men who enjoy male company as well."

On the surface, there were very little shadows to hide in. If one made a slick deal, it was made to the world and it depended on who spoke if that person was worth anything or not. Naomi was one of the few who made the surface life look easy. She then smiled as she took a step back, "That is my final offer."



Crow then glanced at Yuuki, "How long have you been working for this guy anyways? You act like you've grown up with him. Plus, why were you in that cage when I found you instead of getting rescued by him if he's trying to help the slaves?"  

[Hikari_Mamo]

The Master grinned. "You drive a hard bargain girl," He praised. "Like the best lay ever." He chuckled. "70% percent it is, my end will be held up if you keep your end. Including the girls." He purred. "And maybe, if you too get the urge. . ." He added staring into her eyes.


Yuuki smiled and leaned against a wall. "Well, I'm twenty now, so ten years?" She guessed. "He freed me while I was in the middle of being raped by the family I was a slave too. They discovered my bloodline was. . . different slice off some skin it would turn into fur so they'd rape and slice." She shrugged. "He killed them all and offered me freedom. Taught me everything I know. Even some Kitsune magic. The cage?" She smirked. "I was about to escape and kill the owner and free the slaves when you nabbed me. I got caught on purpose. I do that. . ."  

[The Madame Red]

Naomi looked him up and down with a sly grin. He was handsome, to say the least. She chuckled slightly as she took another step back, "I'd say I'd consider the offer, but you know how this type of deal goes. I try not to be personally involved in my business."

Giving a slight, almost mocking, bow, Naomi stood back up, "You will get your first delivery in two weeks, then on a monthly basis. How should I be expecting the payment?"



"That's how I met Naomi, too," Crow recalled the memory as he visualized the scene, "It was a rainy night when I found shelter from an open window and was in silence. I thought it was safe until she and I saw each other as she was...well, you know. That's when she first transformed me into a human and ordered me to kill the man, it wasn't her master I think it was one of his friends though."

He didn't understand how two women from similar paths took different roads to make their lives better. Then again, he may never understand it. Crow then went to a vendor where he bought them both a cook fish on a stick, "Well here's to new friendships and making this place a little more bearable."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

The Master purred. "The builder's will be over soon. And the money will be given when the first group arrive." He smiled. "The food and . . . " He turned to a female Kitsune who had been writing everything down. "What was the other thing?"

The girl cooed something in a strange whistle tone. "Ah yes, the protection." He smiled and gave her some praise and a kiss on her cheek. "My most dependable note taker," He nuzzled her gently then took the contract signing it. "The first money installment will be given before you leave, see the green neko." He smiled softly at her.


Yuuki nodded a little and took a fish stick. "Yes. Here's to new friendship-"

"Aura! Aura! Fire! A slave shop is on fire!" The Kitsune cried. "A little Kitsune discovered her powers. . ."

"Take us there!" She said after a glance to Crow.  

[The Madame Red]

"Pleasure doing business with you," Naomi smiled as she went to the green neko, collected her payment, and made her way out.

She was impressed how he ran things, but wasn't too keen on keeping so many people involved. Slave wise mostly. All she needed was Crow and the traders that came to her to build her own little empire. When she returned to her store, the builders were already working on the repairs



By the looks of the smoke in the sky, Crow new what street to go to. Without saying another word he led the two to where the fire was. It was still small, but a fire could cause a lot of damage to the slaves. Crow burst in and started releasing as many of the nekos, kitsunes, and inus as he could until a beam came crashing down. He evaded the burning beams before freeing the last one he could find. Making his way out of the burning store, he coughed a few times before glancing around to see the slaves hadn't left or tried running off.

"Oi!"

He turned to see a big, burly man storming up to him, "Are you the ones who let them out of their cage!?"

"Cool it, Hugsly," a familiar voice soothed.

Crow was elated to see Naomi as she approached the man, "I'll keep them at my place for now until you get your place up and running."

"Your little birdy friend here just released all of them, and-"

"And they're all accounted for," Naomi smiled as she winked up at the man, "You know my word is gold. We can hash out the details later. For now, clean up your store and i'll get your things fed."

The man didn't exactly have a choice as Crow began rounding up the slaves to head to Naomi's. The kitsune woman watched until the last slave was accounted for and made her way back to her shop where she had Crow clean them off and get them food.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Yuuki helped too. The ones out the back weren't accounted for. She slipped in and grabbed them, children, and carried them all to the safe house then went back to the man. "You broke the rules." She purred to the man soot and ash dusted her features. "The Master doesn't like it when the rules are broken."

"H-H-Hey wait!" He begged.

Yuuki's eyes shone in the fire light. The big burly man had turned into a whimpering. "Wait? No deary you don't get that chance. The Kitsune were scared enough of you to unleash their power. . ." Her neko fangs added to her terrible aura.

"Aura. . ." The Kitsune growled behind her. "You're made your point."

"Not yet. I think he needs a reminder." She dislocated an arm then left. "Follow the rules." She growled turning and leaving picking up any strays that were still in the building.


The Master purred. "Keep an eyes on her Weasel." He said inhaling more. "Ensure she's keeping up her end."

"Yes, My lord." He replied smirking.  

[The Madame Red]

Crow looked to Naomi for a moment before she nodded, "Go along with her, Crow. You know where I live, old friend."

He smiled as he went along with Yuuki and smiled, "That was pretty badass back there for dislocating his arm like that. I bet he won't forget that anytime soon. I wonder what he did to make that kitsune kid scared, then again...I don't think I want to."

Then, he noticed one of the children inu slaves was following him. It was a little boy, who wore tattered clothing and was covered in soot. Crow smiled and ushered the boy towards Naomi's store, "You better follow your friends, puppy. The lady who owns that place will take good care of you."

The child whimpered softly before sulking back to Naomi's store. Crow's shoulders slumped. He hoped that Naomi was doing the right thing, but for now he wanted to stick with Yuuki.



Naomi had clean water for each slave that needed bathed. Her dress was soaking wet as she helped the children bathe and allowed the older ones privacy in her own bathroom to clean themselves. If she was going to sell them to the Master for a good price and benefits, she'd make sure they were all well fed and pristine. None of them spoke a word to her, they all figured she was their owner until the man returned.

"Alright, last one," she cleaned out the tub before filling it with warm water for the last kitsune child.

She wiped the sweat off her brow until she noticed a few of the young adult slaves working in the kitchen to fix a meal for everyone. At least most of them were helping her out. Well, it's not like she had asked them but the help was nice. Once the last child was cleaned, she changed her clothes to loose fitting ones and helped in the kitchen and ate with the lot of them. She'd escort them to the Master in the early morning after they all got some sleep.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Yuuki smiled. "There are rules to follow in the slave trade." She replied. "I can't be everywhere so people slip through, but when I do show up, I try to make an example. I once had to kill a master for his treatment of his slaves." She was about to hold out her arms for the kid when Crow sent him back. That was fine. The Master would have them soon. She didn't need to worry. "Frankly, if I could I'd punish anyone who thought they were more superior to think they needed a slave." She felt the red clouding her vision. . . damn, she didn't need her temper issues flaring right then. Last time wasn't a good thing to remember. "I'm going to do a raid of a slave dock want to come with?" She asked. She needed to blow off some steam. And liberating her fellow felines, canines and foxes felt like a good way to do it.


The master tapped his pipe on a table A female was buried in his kimono. "Mmm honey I told you that's no necessary." He purred. "You're free, you don't need to do anything to stay in my favour~" His eyes rolled back from pleasure.

"Sir. The guardian struck a rule breaker." An informant whispered to him. "Not as severe as the last time, but bad enough he'll pass on the message."

"Good." The Master purred stroking the Kitsune woman's head. "Keep me informed of the three of them. Let me know when more are free."

"Yes sir." The voice whispered leaving him and his current woman alone. He never asked for these things . . . told the women not to do it. He wasn't their actual master, it was just a name. But they kept coming to him, unless they found mates. But the one girl he wanted didn't want him. Didn't want anyone. And he couldn't figure out why.  

[The Madame Red]

Once the slaves were all sleeping, Naomi stayed up and slept in her store on the floor. She had given her bed to the children so they didn't have to sleep on the floor tonight. Her back ached as she tried to sleep, but only nightmares came her way. It was the same nightmare each time. She had only mated once, and she had watch him be slain before her eyes and the child they had created together torn to pieces. Back then, she wasn't strong enough to seek revenge. When she did get her revenge, it didn't bring any peace to her heart. This time, she woke up in a pool of her own sweat as she cried out her child's name only to find that the name echoed for a moment before disappearing.

No one knew that part of her life, not even Crow. It was too painful to speak of and she had no desire to speak of it at all. No matter how handsome her new business partner was or how slick his words seemed to affect her, she had already determined that she could not go through that pain again. She'd keep up her bargain and send him a few women she knew looking for a breeder. This time, she didn't sleep and ended up cleaning her store until the sun rose.



"Yeah, i'll come," Crow smiled as he followed Yuuki.

It was fun getting caught up in this type of world of saving people and rescuing them from such an oppressive lifestyle. He felt like he was on the good side for once instead of feeling guilty when Naomi auctioned so many off for profit. Though they all went to good homes, he enjoyed knowing that the ones he was helping now were actually being set free.

He was timid when her temper flared and he took a step to the side away from her. She was different. Unlike the others he could not scent it, but he could sense it. Crow followed her to the docks where plenty of felines and canines, and a few foxes, were hauling a lot of cartel around. There were plenty of slaves here, but they didn't seem to be under any pressure. Well, that is a human came from behind a shack and pulled up his zipper as young inu woman came behind him that looked battered and bruised.

"That sick ********!" Crow's eyes turned beady as he pulled out a knife, "I'll cut out his throat and feed it to the worms."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

It wasn't Naomi The Master wanted. It was Yuuki. She was unlike any other neko. Most neko's couldn't wield even tiny bit of magic, but Yuuki could. She had enough to be able to heal or hurt anyone, but what came with it was a deadly temper. Sometimes even he couldn't control Yuuki. Yuuki thought when he saved her she was being tortured and mistreated. No. She was on a human killing spree, killing everyone she came across. She was covered in blood. Looked feral almost. . . wild Kitsune. Normally He would have put her down. But something told him not too. Those big innocent eyes told him not too. So he didn't. He took her under his wing and cared for her, telling her a lie to protect her. Now. . . he had to watch as a crow wiggled into her heart. And it hurt him.


Yuuki rushed at the human before Crow could move. Her body just. . . shimmered as she rushed in for the kill. "You broke the rules." She whispered pinning him to the ground ignoring his pitiful cries for mercy. She pulled out a knife and cut out his throat stringing him up somewhere public writing in his blood: Follow the rules.
Then she went back to the place to free the slaves taking special care of the abused ones.  

[The Madame Red]

Crow watched for a few moments before heading back to the store. He could sense the heavy heart even from afar and knew something was off. When he entered the store to see the bags beneath Naomi's eyes, he could see it was another hard night. He had heard her screaming before in her sleep from the nightmares. She never told him what they were about, but he knew that they were frequent enough that it was becoming an even bigger burden.

"You ought to go back to your friend," Naomi spoke softly, "You ought to find happiness, too."

"How can I be happy when my oldest friend is in a state like this? It's nice to see you housing so many slaves and caring for them, but what's-"

"I made a deal with that neko's proprietor," Naomi explained, "Tomorrow morning i'll be escorting them to his household."

"I'll do it, Nae," Crow neared her, "You don't have to do all the work."

When he reached out to touch her, Naomi pulled away and her posture became rigid. Crow felt his heart break at how isolated she kept herself, even from those she claimed to be close to. How broken was she truly? For someone who was both respected and held on a pedestal, she was more fragile than she appeared.

At one point, Crow had believed that Naomi was a woman he wanted. He wanted to save her from everything she wanted. To save her from the countless nightmares. But she did not return his emotions. For that, he knew that she didn't need a knight in shining armor. She needed someone just as cold as she was to get her ice to crack.



Meanwhile, a young crimson haired man entered on the outskirts of town. The evening was beginning to darken even more, but he finally reached the manor just beyond the quiet town. He watched as his 50 or so slaves were carted in to begin their duties. For the most part he guessed they were all there since the guards weren't questioning them. As long as there wasn't a fuss.

Hiro smiled as he looked down at the town, "My uncle has informed to look for a woman named Naomi; apparently she has some magic potion that will help my staff keep calmer or something."

"We could look for her tonight, m'lord," one of the guards suggested.

"Nonsense, why wake the entire village when we can just ask around tomorrow?" Hiro smiled as he turned his attention back to the village, "Uncle said she was resourceful on getting obedient staff. That or she makes them drink her potions to do what she wanted. I'm not sure what he said."

With that said, he went inside to rest for the night.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

The moment Crow left her, Yuuki returned to her master. "Master. . ." She whispered entering the quiet halls. "Master. . ."

"What did you do Aura?" The Master said. He knew how much she hated that name so used it when he was mad at her.

"I'm. . . I'm lost. . ." She whispered back tears in her eyes. She saw her friend's face go from ice cold to alarmed as he caught her before she hit the ground. He held her close as he took her to the cell designed to keep her contained.

Weasel had been keeping an eye on the shop when he saw the entourage. His eyes narrowed. The Master was not going to be happy someone had come here without the proper paperwork, which meant more work for him. Great. Perfect! Just what he needed. However, it wouldn't be long before the human saw the sign. He loved watching human's, especially the male's, go green at seeing the sign.